Mike Marino – The Ghost of Lenny Bruce

The city of Detroit, especially the radio community was duking it for the Heavy Weight Title of who would sponsor the George Carlin Concert at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, Michigan. George coming to college..the ultimate seven dirty words substitute teacher and class was in session. CJOM, WABX, WRIF and W-4  were all co-sponsors of the event being treated as the one in line with the big bang theory..however was more in line with Darwin’s Theory of Social Comic Evolution.

Lenny Bruce

Read the book of Genesis..it clearly states “The Lord created the world in six days, on the seventh he took a break from breaking his ass and went to see Lenny Bruce” which is why people to this day attend a church service…to worship Bruce in the sanctity of a burlesque dive disguised as a holy sanctuary. Lenny did pose as a certain Father Flotski, did he not? During this first phase of comedy as a anthropological mirror of our disgusting species, there also dwelt the Sahlosauras. Mort Sahl…laid back sweater never let them see you sweat cool. Be-bop milk and cookies compared to Lenny’s cooked spoonful of venim.

Busted constantly for profanity (?) why? To Cum IS a verb in any form it is practiced from fornication to masturbation, there is a certain physical activity associated with it to reach ejaculation..praise God! So Lenny does his schtick and gets busted for talking boobs…one guy who hung with Lenny back in the day of the well hung, was one George Carlin.

George Carlin – Young Republican or Insurance Salesman

George was a young stand-up just starting out. He wore suits and ties..as did Lenny. He mimicked his routines to get the pattern and flow and found you can shock people into social reality with the placement of a few dirty words…planted in the saloon room like so many landmines. Not to shock, not to say them to say them, but to punctuate unlike the braindead shock comedians of today…besides…it’s all been done before and at great cost. Arrests, imprisonment, career damage…Lenny was the Li Po of dark comedy, wandering in the wilderness of comedy Zen. George worshipped him.

Li Po – Napping on his Snake Basket

I met George twice and had dinner once with him in Detroit and he relayed a story about his days hanging with Bruce, but will save that for dessert. George was booked at the college and all the  stations mentioned above were co-sponsors, which also met the staff gets free back stage passes..one thing about radio..you didn’t pay for anything. Tickets, movies, food, it was all free…I never paid for movie ticket until 2005! (and the film sucked!)

We all met at the concert, me and my girlfriend, the guys from WABX, W-4 and WRIF and got our seats. No one was allowed back stage prior to the show. Made sense. George was in a mental seance to contact the spirit of his dear departed mentor the wise and powerful Bruce. George came on stage, (no, not that way, to come on stage is a verb though! as would be to cum on stage at the Black Cat Topless club I used to frequent with the other stations one Friday a month on the westside of Detroit for beer, boobs and at time, bare bottoms and fronts) Radio people..can’t take them anywhere there are naked girls.

George did the Hippy Dippy thing and all his best routines…seven dirty words, blue food (my favorite) and eluded to Lenny in his set. Once the set was done he left the stage (another verb in reverse if to come is on direction and to cum is caused by an erection, then to leave is a reverse verb. You can un-come but you cannot un-cum..try it..see if you can fit it all back in, I double dog dare you..if not go stick your tongue to a cold pole…with a pole dancer attached or a Pole attached. Those Eastern Europeans will warm it up first)

We all took advantage of our backstage pass and with girlfriend in tow made it to the inner sanctum. George was completely “on” still and completely charming. My girl at the time was a statuesque Nordic blonde two inches taller than me which wasn’t unusual considering my height. She would have looked good with a SS officers hat, riding crop and Das Boots! George was taken as well and in an act of chivalry bent low as he took her hand to kiss it. He was ready to “verb” I think right on the spot.

The others made their “gee great to meet you Mr. Carlin” and left, my girlfriend Cindy  and I, and Jeff and his wife from WABX stayed behind at his invite, as we were talking to him about Lenny and such, and not fawning. He said he had a story about Lenny but first let’s grab a bite to eat, and the fact that we were from Detroit, we better know a goddamn place to chow. I did..I smiled and said..”We’re going to Greektown downtown for saganaki in flames! Oompa! We popped in the limo the college had provided for him for a 24 hour period and on the way into the city smoked a couple of joints George had on him..the california stuff…the good stuff probably from south of the border down Mexico way.

The story is that at one nightclub in NYC Lenny was busted by the cops, again, and the patrons were also up against the wall for I.D. when the cops came to George and asked for is identification..he leaped to the top of a table, dropped his pants and started waving his schlang in the cops face..”Here it is, here it is!” Never wave a cock in a cops face. For one thing it’s probably like looking in a mirror for them, second, it gets you busted too…George was taken in and in the tank Lenny was surprised. “What are you in here for?” George said, “They wouldn’t accept my ID”

We hit Greektown…did Greektown…drank ouzo and beer, (arghhhh) and smoked some more after we got back in the limo for the ride back to the college where my car was. We emerged from the limo and as we were getting out, George kissed Cindys hand one more time and reached out to shake mine..I reached forward, and he said, “Oh what the hell” and kissed it too..I felt like the goddamned pope and started laughing so hard I couldnt stop…the limo took off and George disappeared into the comedy night..(I did meet up with him two years later at the Fisher Theater Concert in Detroit)

I had never had the opportunity to see Lenny Bruce in person. One of my absolute idols, but thankfully I got to meet his re-incarnation, George Carlin and learned a valuable lesson..there is no blue food, and when you do cum, by remote control or do it yourself, it IS a verb.

Gunslingers Don’t sing and Dance

https://www.bookrix.com/book.html?bookID=vvf43f37fc2b425_1474894400.6582529545#0,522,84326

Space Noir Bar Book ( E-Book) by Mike Marino Click and Cruise.

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Fairy Tales & Other Murders (E-Book) by Mike Marino

http://www.bookrix.com/book.html?bookID=vvf43f37fc2b425_1446032617.7185099125#0,468,57186

Storm Clouds Over Havana (E-Book by Mike Marino (In Progress)

http://www.bookrix.com/book.html?bookID=vvf43f37fc2b425_1464723832.7502470016#0,468,9972

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Mike Marino has made his “roadhead” bones and enjoy’s nothing better than a greasy, unfolded map on the seat of the car…a bag of beef jerky and smoked fish and a cream soda to wash it all down as the highway and the steel belts play a meloldy of asphalt. Originally a product of the Motor City, Mike has lived in on the streets and on the beach in Hawaii, as well as in Haight Ashbury and the North Beach neighborhoods in San Francisco. Mike is also founder of the Experimental Theater Workshop, The Spare Change Artists Project, adn the Dung Zen Sustainable Living Project. He is primarily though a freelance magazine writer of pop culture, car culture, travel and history for numerous publications and he enjoys Hawaiian shirts, classic cars, Ed Wood Movies, fuzzy dice and hula dashboard ornaments as well as a good Hemmingway cigar, Corona beer, hiking and backpacking and rummaging through flea markets and auto junkyards.